Latch for suction cleaner



March 19, 1963 c. B. SMITHSON LATCH FOR SUCTION CLEANER Filed on. 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 19, 1963 c. B. SMITHSON 3,081,478

LATCH FOR SUCTION CLEANER Filed Oct. 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

" 0w and/260714 BY Mp, Mae- United States Patent 3,081,478 LATCH FOR SUCTION CLEANER Charles B. Smithson, Bloomington, Ill., assignor to National Union Electric Corporation, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 65,995 14 Claims. (Cl. 15-327) This invention relates to improvements in a suction cleaner and more particularly to an improved latch construction for the same.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved latch for a suction cleaner of the canister type having hinged casing sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved latch for a suction cleaner which does not require any freely pivotable or loosely movable parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide anovel and improved releasable latch for a suction cleaner which is substantially self-closing.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved resilient action in a latch for a suction cleaner.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a suction cleaner, a novel combination of a latch structure and a clean air outlet such that the latch structure also functions as a deflector for the outlet air.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a small scale perspective view of a suction cleaner embodying the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the cleaner of FIG. 1 with portions of the structure broken away to reveal certain internal features;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 2 showing the latch in the process of being closed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the latch in fully closed position;

FIG. 5 is an inside elevational view taken along the irregular line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIG. 4.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the suction cleaner shown comprises a generally circular casing having a lower section 10 mounted on casters 11 and an upper section or cover 12 having a handle 13 and a latch means 14. The casing sections are hinged together by means of a hinge structure comprising a hinge bracket 15 secured to the lower casing section 10 and a hinge plate 16 mounted on the cover 12 and pivotally connected to the bracket 15. The hinge plate 16 is combined as a unitary structure with a nozzle connector opening 17 for detachably receiving a cleaning tool hose connection (not shown). This portion of the structure forms no part of the present invention but is more fully described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 66,465, filed November 1, 1960. A tubular inlet 18 for dirty air projects from the side wall of the cover 12 in registry with the opening 17. An outlet 19 for clean or filtered air is provided in the wall of the lower casing section 10 adjacent the latch 14, as hereinafter described.

Within the casing of the cleaner a motor-fan unit 20 is centrally mounted on a horizontal partition or tray 21 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which extends across the lower casing section 10. A filter bag holder 22 is mounted in generally upright but slightly inwardly inclined position 3,081,478 Patented Mar. 19, 1963 at one side of the casing adjacent the air inlet 18. A compressible annular gasket 23, of sponge rubber or the like, is mounted on the bag holder 22 and defines an opening 24 in registry with the air inlet 18 and the opening 17. A bracket 26 on the tray 21 pivotally supports the holder 22 on the lower casing section 10'. An air pervious filter bag 27 substantially encircles the motorfan unit 20 within the casing and has a mouth portion (not shown) detachably secured by a mounting collar to the bag holder 22 in registry with the gasket opening 24. The gasket 23 is compressed at one side by the wall of the cover 12 when the latter is closed and is compressed at its other side by the bag mounting collar (not shown) so as to provide an airtight connection between the bag mouth and the air inlet .18. The bag holder and associated structure just described form no part of the present invention but are more fully described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 66,543, filed November 1, 1960.

Referring next to FIGS. 3-7, the details of the latch means 14 comprising the present invention will now be explained. The cover 12 has a peripheral flange portion 31 with a furniture guard 32, of rubber or the like. mounted thereon and extending both above and below the flange 31. The lower casing section 10 has a mating peripheral flange portion 33. As seen in FIG. 3, when the cover 12 is open, the portion of the guard 32 below the flange 31 is relatively enlarged or expanded, as at 34. However, when the cover 12 is latched in closed position, as in FIG. 4, the guard portion 34 is compressed between the opposite flanges 31 and 33 and thereby functions as a sealing gasket to prevent air leakage between the casing sections.

The latch means 14 comprises a unitary latch and handle member, which may conveniently be formed from a plastic material, with an inturned upper end portion 36 secured to the wall of the cover 12 and a depending handle portion 37 spaced outwardly from the casing and extending an appreciable distance below the juncture of the casing sections. The upper end portion 36 of the latch member has a resiliently yieldable connection with the cover 12 by means of a short transverse spring plate 38 disposed at the inside of the cover and connected to the upper end portion 36 of the latch by means of a pair of screws 39 extending loosely through the cover 12 and interconnecting the spring plate 38 with the latch structure. Because of the curvature of the wall of the cover 12, the spring plate 38 engages the wall at spaced points and tightening of the screws 39 causes the spring plate to assume a resiliently curved or bowed position, as best seen in FIG. 6. A gasket or cushion 41, such as a strip of rubber or the like, is interposed between the end portion 36 of the latch and the cover 12 to protect the exterior finish of the cover and also to seal the screw holes in the wall of the cover against leakage of air. A central strengthening rib 42 is formed integrally in the upper end portion 36 of the latch. The innermost end of the rib 42 has a small projection 4-3 which extends into an aperture 44 in the gasket 41 for centrally supporting and preventing sagging of the gasket.

Spaced below .the upper attaching portion 36 of the latch is an integral inwardly projecting cross-rib or latching shoulder 46 extending transversely across the width of the latch and having a sloping upper surface portion 47. Depending centrally from the cross-rib 46 is an elongated thin vane or cam portion 48 having a curved inner cam edge 49, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The rib 46 and the vane 48, in addition to their primary'functions described in detail below, also serve to strengthen the latch member 14, especially where the latter is of plastic material.

The depending handle portion 37 of the latch member 14 overlies the clean air outlet 19 in the side wall of the lower casing section so that the handle portion acts as a deflector for the exhaust air. A U-shaped perforated exhaust guard 51 is mounted at the inside of the lower casing section 10 to protect the outlet 19. The thin cam portion 48 on the inner side of the latch member effectively divides or splits the stream of exhaust air impinging on the latch handle so that the air is diverted laterally in opposite directions from the cam portion 48.

In operation, the latch is substantially self-closing. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cover 12 is closed under hand pressure or is merely allowed to drop by gravity under its own weight, the curved edge 49 of the cam portion 48 engages the outer edge of the flange or rim 33 and the latch is automatically pivoted or flexed outwardly to allow the cross-rib 46 to clear the flange 33. Thereafter, as seen in full lines in FIG. 4, the resilient action of the spring 38 causes the latch to retract so that the sloping surface 47 on the cross-rib 46 engages the downturned edge portion, indicated at 52, of the flange 33 for looking the cover 12 in closed position. To release the latch for opening the cover it is necessary to exert an outward pull on the handle portion 37 so that the latch is flexed to the dot-ted line position of FIG. 4, thereby allowing the surface 47 to clear the downturned flange edge 52. A solely upward lifting action on the handle 37 is not sufficient to release the latch because the surface 47 substantially underlies the flange edge 52. Thus, inadvertent or unintentional opening of the cover is avoided. During outward flexing of the latch for opening the cleaner, the upper end portion 36, particularly the upper edge thereof above the screws 39, fulcrums against the outer wall of the cover 12 in opposition to the retracting action of the spring 38, which is thereby flexed, and the gasket 41 protects the painted finish or other finish on the exterior of the cover from being chipped or disfigured by contact with the fulcrum end 36 of the latch.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to a preferred structural embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various modifications and equivalent structures may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner having a pair of upper and lower hinged casing sections with mating peripheral flanges, the combination therewith of a releasable latch member having an upper end portion disposed at the exterior of said upper casing section above the flange thereof and a lower portion adapted to depend below said flanges when the casing sections are closed, a transverse latch shoulder on said latch member adapted to engage the flange on said lower casing section for retaining the casing sections in closed relation, cam means on said latch member below said shoulder for deflecting the lower portion of said latch member outwardly to allow said shoulder to clear said flanges during closing movement of said upper casing section toward said lower casing section, deflectable spring plate means disposed at the interior of said upper casing section opposite said upper end portion of said latch member, and fastening means extending loosely through said upper casing section with an inner end engaging and supporting said spring plate means and an outer end engaging said upper end portion of said latch member for mounting the same, whereby said shoulder is normally urged toward latching position by said spring plate means.

2. The combination of claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a cushion interposed between the upper end portion of said latch member and the exterior of said upper casing section for protecting the latter during outward deflection of said latch member.

3. In a suction cleaner having a pair of upper and lower hinged casing sections with curved side walls, the

combination of a pair of mating peripheral flanges on said casing sections, a latch member having a fulcrum end portion extending inwardly toward and engaging said upper casing section above the flange thereof, said latch member having an elongated handle portion extending from said fulcrum end portion and adapted to depend below said flanges in outwardly spaced relation from the lower casing section when the casing sections are closed, a transverse shoulder extending across said handle portion at the inner side thereof and having an upper latching surface adapted to engage beneath the flange on said lower casing section for retaining the casing sections in closed relation, a spring plate disposed at the interior of the curved side wall of said upper casing section, fastening means extending through holes in the curved side wall of said upper casing section and connecting said spring plate to said fulcrum end portion below the upper edge of the latter whereby said spring plate coacts between said upper casing section and said fulcrum end portion of said latch member for normally urging said latch member toward latching position, and means defining a cam surface below said shoulder for engaging the flange on said lower casing section during closing movement of said upper casing section and thereby deflecting said handle portion outwardly to allow said shoulder to clear said flanges, the upper edge of said fulcrum end portion of said latch member fulcruming against the exterior of the side wall of said upper casing section during outward deflection of said handle portion and thereby efiecting resilient bowing of said spring plate.

4. The combination of claim 3 further characterized in that a combined cushion and gasket is interposed between said fulcrum end portion and the exterior of said side wall for protecting the latter during said fulcruming action and also for sealing said holes against leakage of air.

5. In a suction cleaner having a casing including hinged upper and lower casing sections with curved side walls, the combination therewith of latch structure comprising a latch member having means engageable with structure on the lower casing section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation, said latch member having an attaching end portion for securing the latch member to the side wall of the upper casing section at the exterior thereof, a spring plate disposed transversely across the curved side wall of the upper casing section at the interior thereof, said spring plate engaging said side wall at spaced points, and fastening means extending loosely through holes in said side wall and interconnecting said spring plate with said attaching end portion of said latch member whereby said latch memher is resiliently deflectable outwardly from said casing for releasing said latch member.

-6. The combination of claim 5 further characterized by the provision of a combined cushion and gasket interposed between said side wall and said attaching end portion of said latch member for protecting the exterior finish of said side wall during outward deflection of said latch member and for sealing said holes against leakage of air.

7. A latch member for use with a suction cleaner having hinged upper and lower casing sections, comprising an elongated one-piece member having a mounting portion at one end thereof for securing the latch member to the upper casing section, a handle portion extending from said mounting portion and adapted to depend from the mounting portion in spaced relation from the lower casing section when the casing sections are closed, a transverse shoulder extending across said handle portion with an upper latching surface adapted to engage structure on the lower casing section for holding the casing sections in closed relation, and a longitudinally extending vane on said handle portion depending from said shoulder and defining a cam edge for outwardly deflecting engagement with the lower casing section during closing movement of the upper casing section, said vane also being adapted to divide and divert an outlet air stream from the cleaner.

8. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a pair of hinged upper and lower casing sections, said lower casing section having a laterally opening outlet for filtered air, and a latch member mounted on said upper casing section, said latch member having means engageable with structure on said lower casing section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation, and said latch member including a depending portion adapted to overlie said outlet in outwardly spaced relation when the casing sections are closed tor deflecting the air stream from said outlet.

9. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a pair of hinged upper and lower casing sections, said lower casing section having a laterally opening outlet for filtered air, and a combined latch and air deflector member, said member having an attaching portion secured to the upper casing section and means engageable with structure on said lower casing section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation, and said member also including a handle portion adapted to depend therefrom in spaced relation outwardly of the lower casing section and overlying said outlet when the casing sections are closed, said handle portion being manipulatable for opening the casing sections and also deflecting the air stream from the outlet when the casing sections are closed.

10. 'In a suction cleaner, the combination of a pair of hinged upper and lower casing sections, said lower casing section having a laterally opening outlet for filtered air, and a latch member mounted on said upper casing section, said latch member having means engageable with structure on said lower casing section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation, and said latch member including a depend-ing portion adapted to overlie said outlet in outwardly spaced relation when the easing sections are closed for deflecting the air stream from said outlet, and an upright vane on said depending portion facing said outlet for dividing and diverting the outlet air stream in opposite directions.

11. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a pair of hinged upper and lower casing sections, said lower casing section having a laterally opening outlet for filtered air, and a latch member mounted on said upper casing section and cooperable with said lower cas-ing'section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation, said latch member having a depending portion adapted to overlie said outlet in outwardly spaced relation when the casing sections are closed for deflecting the air stream from said outlet, and an upright vane on said depending portion having a cam edge for engaging structure on the lower casing section tor deflecting said member outwardly during closing movement of the upper casing section, said vane also being adapted to divide and divert the outlet air stream in opposite directions.

12. In a suction cleaner having a casing including a pair of upper and lower casing sections, the combination therewith of a releasable latch comprising an op erating handle having an upper end portion disposed at one side of the wall of said upper casing section, deflectable resilient means disposed at the opposite side of the wall of said upper casing section, combined fastening and support means extending loosely through said wall for supporting and interconnecting said resilient means and said upper end portion of said handle whereby said handle is movable outwardly against the action of said resilient means with said upper end portion in operative fulcruming engagement with said one side of said wall of said upper casing section, said handle having a ma- Inpulating portion depending from said upper end portion in outwardly spaced relation from said casing, and means on said handle engageable with structure on said lower casing section for releasably holding the casing sections in closed relation.

13. The combination of claim '12 further characterized in that said lower casing section is provided with a laterally opening air outlet and said manipulating portion of said handle overlies said outlet in spaced relation therefrom for diverting the efiiuent air stream from said outlet.

14. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing including a lower casing section and a hinged upper casing member, a latch having means engageable with structure on the lower casing section for releasably holding the casing closed, said latch having an attaching end portion for securing the latch to the upper casing member at the exterior thereof, a spring plate member disposed at the interior of the upper casing member opposite said end portion of said latch, at least one of said members being transversely curved relative to the other whereby said spring plate member engages said upper casing member at spaced points, and fastening means extending loosely through said upper casing member and interconnecting said spring plate member with said attaching end portion of said latch whereby said latch is resiliently deflectable outwardly from said casing for releasing said latch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,787,646 Smith Ian. 6, 1931 2,316,674 Dow et a1. Apr. 13, 1943 2,652,902 Sheahan Sept. 22, 1953 2,725,953 Dow Dec. 6, 1955 2,848,731 Tamarin Aug. 26, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,237,624 France June 20, 1960 

8. IN A SUCTION CLEANER, THE COMBINATION OF A PAIR OF HINGED UPPER AND LOWER CASING SECTIONS, SAID LOWER CASING SECTION HAVING A LATERALLY OPENING OUTLET FOR FILTERED AIR, AND A LATCH MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID UPPER CASING SECTION, SAID LATCH MEMBER HAVING MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH STRUCTURE ON SAID LOWER CASING SECTION FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING THE CASING SECTIONS IN CLOSED RELATION, AND SAID LATCH MEMBER INCLUDING A DEPENDING PORTION ADAPTED TO OVERLIE SAID OUTLET IN OUTWARDLY SPACED RELATION WHEN THE CASING SECTIONS ARE CLOSED FOR DEFLECTING THE AIR STREAM FROM SAID OUTLET. 